How many extracurriculars?

[kewb]

Both my kids are on a swim team. They are both currently taking ballroom dancing. Both participate in the monthly book club at the library. My oldest is also on the Teen Advisory Board at the library. My dd is a girl scout and she gets together with some other Juliettes once a month to work towards common goals.

 

I think being homeschooled allows us the time to be so involved. I don't know when the schooled kids on the swim team get any down time. I often see them in the liunge doing their homework either before or after their practice while they wait for siblings. Someof them also do other sports. They tell me how little sleep they get becuase of all the homework. It seems very stressful to me.

[ChandlerMom]

My mom & I are "at odds" over this (not in a mean way, we just disagree), so I thought I'd ask: how many extercurricular activities is your DC involved in? Are they involved in more because they're homeschooled?

 

When my kids were yours' age: NO extracurriculars. No regrets.

 

Now that they are a little older (8,6,3): the older two do 1 hr/wk of MA.

 

I'm not going to count our weekly "park day" because honestly the kids just play in parallel and that's more about ME having an extracurricular (chat time with other hs moms). I didn't start going for that, but I think a pp was very insightful when she said the activities were more about the mom getting out of the house. I think that is generally true, and since *I* don't need more breaks from the kids, they don't seem to need more extracurriculars.

 

I've asked if they want to switch to the 2x a week MA class, but although they really like the class they rather just do it 1x a week and have more time to play at home. It has definitely helped them build a strong healthy sibling relationship! They are well liked by their peers in their class and are comfortable in new situations, so obviously they're getting enough for THEIR needs.

 

IMO, if you and the kids are happy right now stick with it. I mean your oldest is barely school aged now, so how many EXTRAcurriculars should there be?? :D Their focus should be on unstructured playtime, not skill development. As they get older, try adding ONE and see how it goes. I think it is better to have fewer more meaningful experiences than to be so busy running between activities they don't get down time to explore and create.

 

Each family will have their own level, and I'm not knocking those who choose to have more activities. Some moms (and likely some kids) really need to get out of the house more. For me, I can't see having outside activities more than 3x a week.

 

I didn't homeschool to play chauffeur or social coordinator, and no, I don't feel the need to do any extra because we homeschool, it's more likely the opposite -- because we homeschool, I am confident enough to just say NO to more extracurriculars.

[Sahamamama]

When my kids were yours' age: NO extracurriculars. No regrets.

 

Now that they are a little older (8,6,3): the older two do 1 hr/wk of MA.

 

I'm not going to count our weekly "park day" because honestly the kids just play in parallel and that's more about ME having an extracurricular (chat time with other hs moms). I didn't start going for that, but I think a pp was very insightful when she said the activities were more about the mom getting out of the house. I think that is generally true, and since *I* don't need more breaks from the kids, they don't seem to need more extracurriculars.

 

I've asked if they want to switch to the 2x a week MA class, but although they really like the class they rather just do it 1x a week and have more time to play at home. It has definitely helped them build a strong healthy sibling relationship! They are well liked by their peers in their class and are comfortable in new situations, so obviously they're getting enough for THEIR needs.

 

IMO, if you and the kids are happy right now stick with it. I mean your oldest is barely school aged now, so how many EXTRAcurriculars should there be?? :D Their focus should be on unstructured playtime, not skill development. As they get older, try adding ONE and see how it goes. I think it is better to have fewer more meaningful experiences than to be so busy running between activities they don't get down time to explore and create.

 

Each family will have their own level, and I'm not knocking those who choose to have more activities. Some moms (and likely some kids) really need to get out of the house more. For me, I can't see having outside activities more than 3x a week.

 

I didn't homeschool to play chauffeur or social coordinator, and no, I don't feel the need to do any extra because we homeschool, it's more likely the opposite -- because we homeschool, I am confident enough to just say NO to more extracurriculars.

 

Thanks for posting this, I find it encouraging.

[mommy5]

Right now we aren't doing a lot of extra stuff ... but I have a lot of young kids. They have free time and we do music and art as extra-curricular at home. They have lots of free play and time outside playing in the yard. I anticipate in a few years feeling more up to being out of house more (I spent the last several years really active in a moms group and we did coop). I am actually enjoying the calmness of being at home more and the kids actually seem to like it more than being overly active outside of the home.

[Mommy Jen]

Things that I consider extracurriculars..(our co-op and other classes are part of our academics)

DD16- Teen Book Club, Travel Basketball Team, Soccer

DD13- 2 Ballet Classes, Gymnastics, Piano Lessons (if that counts?)

DS9- Cub Scouts, Soccer and Hockey

DD7- Gymnastics and Martial Arts

DS5- Soccer and Martial Arts

DD4- Gymnastics and Piano Lessons

 

They also have AWANA, youth group (older 3) and sunday school.

 

We are busy! :auto:

[nov05mama]

Depends on what you really want to count as extracurricular...we do quite a bit outside of the house though...

 

Co-Op Group every Tuesday & Thursday

4-H every other Wednesday

Young Inventors/LEGO Club once a month

Art Co-Op once a month

 

and various nature/homeschool/enrichment events at local parks when they work into our schedule.

[jayb842]

Our schedule is

 

Monday- nothing

Tuesday- swim team

Wednesday- Homeschool chess club

Thursday- swim team

Friday - Homeschool co-op and play group

 

Next year it will swimming at least three times a week. He'll do a outside science class,basketball, and some music lessons.

[Ellie]

My mom & I are "at odds" over this (not in a mean way, we just disagree), so I thought I'd ask: how many extercurricular activities is your DC involved in? Are they involved in more because they're homeschooled?

Well, your mother is entitled to her opinion, but you're the mom in your family, and what you think is the right amount of extracurriculars is what's right for you. :-)

 

My dc weren't involved in *any* outside activities before we started hsing. The thought of those poor dc getting up at the crack of dawn, going to school, getting home by 3 or 3:30 (private school, carpooling, all that kind of stuff), and having dinner at a reasonable hour, and doing a little homework and having some goof-off time AND going to dance or sports or whatnot...man, it just made my head hurt thinking about it!

 

So I took older dd out of school at Easter break of first grade. In the fall, both dds (4 and 7yo) took ballet once a week. The following year they did Scottish Highland dance once a week, and soccer (two practices, a game on Saturday). That was about our max with group activities. We did Camp Fire as independents (badge work was part of our curriculum), and Missionettes on Wednesday nights at church. Later they did 4-H, with one monthly group meeting and individual project meetings as necessary.

 

That would have been one night a week for dance, every week, and one night a month for 4-H (we only did soccer twice; it just about killed us, lol). We'd have been at church every week whether we'd homeschooled or not.

 

I would NOT have done homeschool extracurriculars that were scheduled during the day. I do not want to leave the house on someone else's schedule during the day. We tried it once (a tumbling class on Tuesday mornings at 10), and it totally sucked the life out of our week. I'm just not flexible, I guess. :-)

[gracyomalley]

I also consider these activities part of "education", but we do spend a lot of time out of the house. It would definitely be different if we didn't homeschool, but allowing kids to follow their passions and learn to work hard at things they care about is a big reason we do homeschool. I can't imagine all this stuff and out the door every day at 730, however!

 

DS 11 - level 5 gymnast (12 hours/week), violin lesson 1.5 hours/week, quartet pracitice 2 hours/week, orchestra 2 hours/week, performances about 1or2 times a month. Science class 1.5 hours/week. Art in summer only.

 

DD9, level 6 gymnast, 16 hours/week, violin lesson 1.5 hours/week, ballet 2 hours/week, maybe orchestra this spring..., art in summer, science with big brother off and on.

 

DS7, level 4 gymnast (8 hours/week), violin 1 hour/week, baseball in summer, art in summer, science 1.5 hours/week.

 

DS11 has had to choose to spend more time on music and less on gym already - and making choices is a good lesson, right? DD seems to be just adding stuff on right now...but school is getting done so far...

Erin

[mammaofbean]

if the question is about outside classes, here is our list

 

dd7-

dance - 3 1hour classes a week

theatre- 2 1hour classes a week

horseback riding- 2 1hour classes a week, occasional shows

basketball- just ended (yay!)

book club- once a month

4H- once a month plus extra meetings, activities, service projects

nature center class- 2 2hour classes a month

chinese- 1 1.5hour class a week

 

ds4-

preschool acrobatics- 1 45min class a week

basketball- (did i mention how glad i am the season ended?!)

tee-ball- fall

nature center class- 1 1hr class a week, when it is in session

chinese- 1 1hr class a week

 

we do other stuff like playdates and museum trips and one time classes. our schedule gets a little crazy near the end of the public school year when all of the classes are having recitals and tests and parties. it also gets crazy when dd is in a play. but most of the time it is very light, especially compared to an average public school schedule.

[Caribbean Queen]

Well, your mother is entitled to her opinion, but you're the mom in your family, and what you think is the right amount of extracurriculars is what's right for you. :-)

 

When my kids were yours' age: NO extracurriculars. No regrets.

 

Now that they are a little older (8,6,3): the older two do 1 hr/wk of MA.

 

I don't know what MA is, but other than that,:iagree:

Your mother probably thinks your children will turn out weird if they don't get classroom socialization. Also, she might think a paid teacher will provide them the education and mental stimulation they need. Most people buy into those ideas to some degree.

 

My children do classes about two times a week. They go to Sunday school weekly, and once a month they do a crafting class, library story-time, and some special once-in-a-blue-moon type of thing always comes up. When my oldest was 5 we did much less.

 

I think people at the extremes are strange. I think it is bad to purosely not allow anyone else to teach your children, and never let them out of your sight until they are married. I also think the super dooper soccer moms are overdoing it. I know children who go to school and after school programs five days a week and on Saturday they go from one class to another and eat their meals in the car! :001_huh:

[Sahamamama]

I think people at the extremes are strange. I think it is bad to purposely not allow anyone else to teach your children, and never let them out of your sight until they are married. I also think the super dooper soccer moms are overdoing it. I know children who go to school and after school programs five days a week and on Saturday they go from one class to another and eat their meals in the car! :001_huh:

 

:iagree:And just thinking about that makes me tired. :D

 

When my three were babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, we just stayed home. Or went to Grammy & Pop Pop's house. Or to church. Or to the library. But that was it.

 

Now that they are 5, 5, and 7, we are branching out a bit more, but our consistent routine has us mostly at home. The girls are still so content to play, inside or outside, and their list of ideas is endless. Our extra-curriculars are:

 

 

• Rainbow Flower Fairies (with costumes)

• Queens & Princesses (with costumes)

• Actress Horse Detectives (I have no idea where this came from :confused:)

• Mommies & Babies (with strollers, high chairs, carriers, clothes & dolls)

• Dolly Swimming Lessons (they pretend to teach their dolls to swim) :lol:

• Mary Poppins (Sarah is Mary; Mary is Jane; Hannah is Michael; I am Mrs. Banks) -- this is always done very inauthentic "British" accents

• Little House on the Prairie (Sarah is Laura; Mary is Mary; Hannah is Carrie; I am Ma) -- this is always done with a pioneer twang

 

Outside, they garden, swing, ride scooters, draw with chalk, do hopscotch, jump rope, toss a ball, and chase the cat. :001_smile:

[Walking-Iris]

When my oldest was little we didn't do much either. Just family get togethers and trips to the library (storytime in the summer). Whatever adventure we had as a family was our extra. Then we started OT and speech services---we still have OT every week. And my oldest did soccer last year and will again and we have been tossing around the idea of tennis.. He has a karate class every week and co-op twice a month.

 

My 4 year old will do soccer this year and has co-op and my dd is under 2 so...

 

I honestly think that being out in a ton of classes is overwhelming and tiring. I think all that stuff can be eased into as the children get older.

 

I don't like to be busy---I like to have relaxed fun hobbies around the house instead.

[PeacefulChaos]

Each of my kids does one extracurricular (I consider sports extracurriculars - not sure if you are referring to just those or other stuff, too??) per season - right now, DS8 is doing swimming, DS6 is doing soccer. I'm not counting DD in until she's 3 - this summer they'll all be doing swimming. This fall she'll probably start dance, and they'll pick what they want then.

We don't do any in the 'winter' months - more like fall, spring, summer.

They don't necessarily do more - but it isn't optional. They have to pick something. When they were in PS I didn't make them do one.

[Pen]

Hmmmm.

 

I didn't read the whole thread. What was the argument? Who thought what? And what is an extracurricular?

 

Does going out to bike with friend count? Or any class or activity that is organized but that is not part of what happens in the homeschool home setting? Or things that would be extracurricular as compared to typical bricks and mortar school, like a ps?

 

I think it is hard to comment when not knowing what was meant.

 

Has the situation been worked out?

[FlutterbyMommy]

We are taking a look at this for next year and trying to cut back. Right now DD7 is in piano, ballet, soccer, AHG, Keepers at Home, fine art, Spanish, and CC. Over the summer, we do swim team.

 

We probably have felt guilt over an only child being homeschooled. But with play dates and outings, she has a great many social outings. We look forward to slowing it down and learning our lesson.

[ssavings]

Hmmmm.

 

I didn't read the whole thread. What was the argument? Who thought what? And what is an extracurricular?

 

Does going out to bike with friend count? Or any class or activity that is organized but that is not part of what happens in the homeschool home setting? Or things that would be extracurricular as compared to typical bricks and mortar school, like a ps?

 

I think it is hard to comment when not knowing what was meant.

 

Has the situation been worked out?

 

I think the definition of "extercurricular" varies greatly, but generally has been taken to mean organized class/activity apart from whay happens in the homeschool setting.

 

Most people seem to do a LOT more than I feel like I could do on a weekly basis, but many agreed that with multiple young children, its okay to wait.

 

Not sure what I'm going to do yet. My mom, I think, believes my kids are going to be weird or antisocial if they don't have more outside activity. Right now we have park day every other week and Sunday School. My mom is frusterated that I'm resistent to adding horseback riding, swimming, and coop.

 

Mostly, though, I was just trying to gage what the "norm" is.

[Pen]

I think the definition of "extercurricular" varies greatly, but generally has been taken to mean organized class/activity apart from whay happens in the homeschool setting.

 

Most people seem to do a LOT more than I feel like I could do on a weekly basis, but many agreed that with multiple young children, its okay to wait.

 

Not sure what I'm going to do yet. My mom, I think, believes my kids are going to be weird or antisocial if they don't have more outside activity. Right now we have park day every other week and Sunday School. My mom is frusterated that I'm resistent to adding horseback riding, swimming, and coop.

 

Mostly, though, I was just trying to gage what the "norm" is.

 

I'm not sure there is a norm, and people are in all sorts of different situations--city living with access to much nearby, and not much space at home vs. country living with long distances to activities, but much space and perhaps animals and such right at home, for example, can make a big difference.

 

Personally, I think you have enough for the social aspect. Less activities, with the chance to go more deeply to me make more sense. Just a few close friends can be fine and in fact just one can be great. And you have a lot built in just with the sibling group. In more olden times I think people met fewer people in a year than today many people meet in a week, but the quality of social interaction does not seem to be improved by the quantity of interactions. Instead what there seems to be is hurry and worry and flurry. Some of the schedules for "home"school sound utterly exhausting to me--like you I don't feel I could do that much, and so I don't. If it seems like we need more, it is almost always possible to add things that do not need to be done all the time, for example a special trip to a museum or child friendly theater event, or making time for a special play date. There is much also to be said for some time to breathe and think and eat good meals and sleep and grow. Which reminds me of the book called The Hurried Child. If you don't know it, you might like it--and want to pass it on to your mom.

 

I suppose there are some anti-social homeschooled children...but most seem to be very able to relate to others even if they do very few "extracurriculars"...one could equally well argue that putting children into a group of 20-35 peers for many hours each day, away from the regular rhythm of home life is a bizarre thing to do, only done in the most recent century or so, and hard to say that the experiment in regular school is producing great results, only that whatever results it does produce are given the status of "normal".

[MistyMountain]

My plans are to do swimming, 4H or girl scouts, dance and gymnastics. That could all change because I haven't actually started yet. I might do a co op class. I'm lucky that if you go through a charter in my state you get money to do classes because otherwise we couldn't do all that. I might also do outdoor playgroups.

[sassenach]

What are we counting? Each kid has 2 sports/activities, plus co-op, plus 2 park days, plus a standing date with friends at the skate park, plus church, plus small group.....so between 2 and 8 depending on how you count it.

[KAM]

I have four kids and allow them two activites each at a time. If they want to do something else, I make them drop one of the things they are already involved in, unless the third activity fits really well into the routine. For example, my boys both do rock climbing and swimming. They are going to start archery in a few weeks but they will drop swimming when it begins. Older dd does horseback riding, once a week and will be doing an astronomy class soon. My 3 yo only does gymnastics. In the past I've had a rule of no ex. activities before the age of four, but she really wanted to do it so I caved!

 

I would love to be able to do more and it's hard when you see things you know the kids would like...but I also know they like to have a lot of time at home as well. When you add in our weekly homeschool group and appointments/errands/library visits this still feels like too much sometimes and I have debated only letting them do one thing at a time.

[maizeydaizey]

DD (6 1/2) is in swim lessons two nights a week and Camp Fire one afternoon a week.

 

We do participate in a weekly playgroup one afternoon a week, playing with friends.

 

Other than that, we do participate in activities with our homeschool group - field trips, outings, sewing group, Nature Club, etc... throughout the month.

 

So, really just two official 'activities' I think (swim & Camp Fire). The rest is for fun getting together stuff.